Life right now...

Ciao,

 

Okay okay! I have been really awful at keeping up the blogging but my life has been quite a rollercoaster over the past 6 months. Well actually over the last year and a half, but I think I may be moving forward with all this. Though I always worry that I've spoken too soon.

 

So what am I doing at the moment? 

 

1. Well I am a final year university student, currently sitting in the library with a packed lunch in front of me (I can't afford to buy on campus this week) procrastinating by writing this post instead of studying the Italian subjunctive tense like I should be.

 

2. I am not working at the moment and am seriously questioning how I'm going to buy Christmas presents this year as my budget is pretty tight to say the least.

 

3. I am still learning to drive but I can't take my test until December unless I get lucky and find a cancellation test! This means that I am travelling to uni 4 days a week on good ol' public transport which burns a massive hole in both my pocket and my time.

 

It's safe to say I am feeling fairly student-like this year, I'm not sure I like it, but then again I  never have liked it. Bring on graduation and life in the real world!

 

Not really sure (again) what I am going to be writing about on here but at the moment I will settle for actually writing as opposed to doing nothing.

 

Ciao for now...

Ciao bella!

Ciao,

As I write this the greeting of my blog actually makes sense for the very first time as I have just arrived in the land of pizza, pasta and beautiful language! I must admit I am pretty tired, I was up at 3.30 to drive to Gatwick and it is now nine o'clock Italian time and I have arrived in Napoli after a 2 hour plane journey with unsuccessful attempts to sleep. I just got on a coach which will take me to Sorrento (hopefully) which is where I will be staying and I was suddenly hit by the realisation that I am finally in Italy. I've wanted to come here for such a long time and I am so pleased to finally be here. 

Admittedly I was not looking forward to coming, I have just spent two jam packed weeks in Ovacik in Turkey with my family and have only been home in England for four days and it just wasn't enough time. I ended up packing at 9 o'clock last night in the dark as we had a power cut! I am still exhausted from Turkey and a little intimidated by being on my own in a country where my language knowledge is very much below where it should be. But let's not get negative that's what I'm here to do! I don't know if I've mentioned it on a previous blog but I am attending a course for four weeks in Sorrento through a company called Apple Languages. I decided to do this as I have missed an integral year of my degree by not going abroad and am trying to catch myself up as much as I possibly can in the time that I have. I am feeling pretty daunted by the year I have ahead of me but I am willing to work my butt off to achieve my goals. 

I'm missing out on all the scenery on the drive from Napoli to Sorrento so..,

Ciao for now...

Life update!

Ciao,

 

I thought since I haven't been blogging for the past few months that I would write an overview of the past few months, just to record all the little things that I feel are important to remember.

 

1. I am having surgery on 10th July to remove my wisdom teeth at long last! I have been plagued by toothache and infection for the past 2 years due to the three demonic wisdom teeth which have grown through. The first one grew through at the wrong angle meaning it wore a massive hole into the side of my mouth every time I moved my mouth. The second has grown through the wrong way and is effectively lying down meaning the tooth in front is at risk of decay and the third tooth has grown in most of the way but is still fairly covered by gum meaning no matter how well I brush my teeth I get infections every few months where food gets lodged inside. Gross. I have had a fear of dentists since I was little when I had two bad experiences and therefore the constant visits to the dentist in the past 2 years have not been fun for me. I am being put to sleep under a general anaesthetic and having all 3 removed. I can't wait!

 

2. Last week I smashed my iPhone screen! WAHHHHH! I dropped my phone onto my foot which hurt a lot, after hitting my foot it hit my tiled kitchen floor and smashed my screen into smithereens. Annoyingly I have dropped my phone onto concrete, down stairs and literally thrown it across a room by accident and it has never broken, the one time it hits my foot it smashes. Just my luck.

 

3. I have decided not to take my driving test again until the winter...I will reveal why in my next post. Ooooo secrets!

 

4. I am still attempting to lose weight and get fit. I have joined the gym and am attempting to go regularly. The weight loss has not been dramatic, in fact I haven't lost weight but I haven't gained either. I feel as if I have lost inches and feel my body is slowly changing and this is fine by me. I have accepted that I will not have my perfect beach body by my holiday to Turkey in August but to be perfectly honest there are bigger problems in the world and I don't really care!!

 

5. I am very proud of my best friend Hayley who is graduating from Roehampton University this summer with a 2:1 in Modern Languages. She is then moving to Barcelona in September to begin her Masters!

 

6. Very excitingly one of my close friends is expecting her second baby. YAY! I need a newborn fix and am so excited to meet the new addition in December. My bet is that its a boy!

 

7. My little sister completed her GCSE's and has now left school. I am so proud of her it's crazy, she started her exams only weeks after my Dad passed away and I think she is so inspiring. She revised like crazy and I can't wait to count the amount of A*'s and A's she will get in August. My Dad would be so proud. She also went to prom which was so lovely, I may do a separate post on this as I was very involved in getting her ready.

 

I think this is pretty much all the things which have happened in the last 2 months which I am excited about and want to record. A post on the next few months is coming soon...

 

Ciao for now...  

The Worst Post Ever.

Ciao,

I have been absent from ye olde bloggersphere for about 2 and a half months. I have thought about writing this post so many times in the last few weeks but I couldn't bring myself to actually sit down and type the words.

Sadly, on 9th April my wonderfully strong Dad lost his battle with Cancer and passed away. I still cant quite put into words how I feel about this and how I'm coping with losing such a monumental person in my life. It has been a very strange few months, I returned to work 2 weeks after he passed away and have in many ways gone back to 'normal' life. Although what is normal life? And really how normal can your life ever be when you have experienced something as traumatic as a parent dying? To be honest when I think about it I felt my entire life shift and change the day I found out my Dad had Cancer and again a week later when I found out it couldn't be cured. Everything changed for me in that moment, both my immediate future and my distant future changed in a way I never expected. I'd never understood what people really meant by 'time stood still' or when they say that you can relive a memory with such clarity and detail that it feels completely real as if you're reliving it. I'd never understood that until those moments, and time really does stand still and I can remember many moments of my life over the past 6 months with such detail that it's scary. In these moments I can honestly say that I felt my mindset change and I truly believe that I will never be the person I was a year ago again.

 

June has been a really hard month and will be every year for the rest of my life. Fathers Day always falls in June and is always near to my Dad's birthday which was yesterday. It's hard everyday to deal with the absence of someone in your life but it's especially hard on special days like birthdays. I found yesterday very difficult, in a way I am extremely angry that my Dad didn't reach his 51st birthday or any of the subsequent birthdays. He was too young to be taken away, just like so many others who have Cancer. I try as hard as I can to stay positive and keep moving forward, just like my Dad wanted me to, but on days like birthdays and Fathers day it's difficult to see past your grief and sadness.

 

I am sure I will post more on my Dad and how I am dealing with my grief. There are also events which happened around his death which I want to record as I am afraid I'll forget them but I will save that for another post.

 

I love you always Daddy.

 

Ciao for now... 

 

TMI Tag

Ciao,

Today I have decided to post a tag response...these are usually done by YouTubers but I thought it would be cool to have it written down and maybe be able to compare my answers in 5 years time! 

Vital Stats:
Name Daisy
Nicknames Dais, Angel, Belle, Moo
Birthday 10th March 1992
Place of Birth Wexham
Star Sign Pisces
Occupation Primarily a student but always with a part time job.

Appearance:
Hair colour Brown
Hair length Shoulder length
Eye colour Brown
Best feature I had a hard time answering this one, not because I hate myself but because I'd never really considered it to be honest. I guess I'd say that I think I have nice hands. Weird I know but I always notice people's hands and whether I like them or not.
Braces Lucky enough to never have had braces.
Piercings 6 - 2 lobe piercings on each ear, a piercing half way up my right ear and also my nose. There's always room for more. 
Tattoos  None and no plan to change this.
Righty of Lefty Righty but I find watching leftys write fascinating.

Firsts:
Best friend I believe a girl named Kelly from when I was 5.
Award For ballet when I was 4 or 5, I gave up a few weeks after getting the award.
Sport Erm ballet or gymnastics.
Real Holiday Weymouth Haven Holiday Park
Concert S Club 7...So rock 'n' roll!

Favourites:
Film That's tricky, most Julia Roberts films or The Breakfast Club.
TV Show Argh so many The Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother...apparently I love American comedy programmes!
Colour Red
Song I couldn't ever chose a favourite song because it changes all the time. 
Restaurant This is hard too, I just love food. Erm pass?
Store I'm assuming this means for clothes so Dorothy Perkins.
Book Harry Potter, Hunger Games, True Blood or Private Peaceful.
Magazine Don't really read magazines too often but I suppose I like gossip mags.
Shoes I currently live in boots or converses. But also so in love with my new Nike Blazers. I'm a girl, I love all shoes!

Currently...
Feeling Hungry, I can smell bologneise cooking downstairs.
Single or Taken Single
Eating Nothing, dinner soon though. 
Listening to Katy B's new album Little Red
Thinking about What colour to paint my nails tonight.
Watching I will be catching up on One Born Every Minute and The Great British Sewing Bee this evening.
Wearing Black work trousers, black and white polka dot peplum top with three quarter length sleeves and a collar, a black cardigan and my cosy slanket.

Future:
Want Children I want 4 children, I'd love a baby then twins then another baby. Eek!
Want to be married I would like to get married but don't see it as a necessity.
Careers in mind Translator, Interpreter or Teacher.
Where do you want to live Wherever the people I love are.

Do you believe in:
God No
Miracles Maybe.
Love at first sight No
Ghosts Yes
Aliens Who knows what's out there!
Soul Mates Yes but I don't think I buy into the theory that you only get one. 
Heaven Erm kinda undecided, I don't believe in God so I shouldn't but I like thinking that there is a heaven.
Hell Even weirder I don't really ever think about hell. I guess I think that really bad people just die. They don't get to be ghosts and watch over people or go to hell. They just get erased.
Kissing on the first date Whatever floats your boat. Each to their own and all that. 
Yourself I believe in myself. Not all the time but I definitely do. 

Ciao for now...

Monthly Aims: April

Ciao,

Erm I'm sorry where has March gone? I would like it back please. Last thing I knew it was my birthday and now we're about to welcome April... ERRR WHAT! This year is going way too fast, before I know it it's going to be August and I'm still fat...which brings me to last months aims...

1.To exercise at least 5 days a week.

2. To revise French/Italian 3 times a week.

Well safe to say I failed EPICALLY at number one. Completely failed I have not exercised once in the whole of March, unless you count excessive amounts of walking which I have done on two trips to London and at work which has been CRAZY this month. I badly need to get my butt in gear, in more than one sense of the word, I am flying to Turkey in precisely 126 days and I need to lose some weight or I may just melt in the heat. So March Aim number one is a write off, new start tomorrow?

March aim number 2 has gone slightly better but I don't think I can say I've done revision 3 times a week every week but there has been revision. I've been writing vocab lists from French to Italian so that when I look at them there is no English in sight. I have also the past few days been doing Rosetta Stone in Italian and oh man it's going to take me ages to complete. It feels good to go back to basics though and start from the foundations up. 

So one failure and one pretty good attempt. March hasn't been an awful month for me, in fact a lot of good things happened; my 22nd Birthday, trip to Harry Potter Studio Tour, day out in London, Drake concert and best of all my Daddy came home! YAY! 

So now onto the purpose of this post, April Aims.

1. To exercise as much as possible.

2. To continue revision.

3. To be better with my money. 

Here's hoping I can keep to these ones!

Ciao for now...

Beautiful Blazers

Ciao,

Pinterest is an addictive world of craft and all things beautiful. I had heard all about Pinterest but had never bothered with opening an account until a few months ago and just like Alice, I fell into its wonderland. I now have several boards for several different things and have been collecting recipes, craft ideas, home ideas, weight loss tips and everything in between like a magpie with shiny things. One day I found a picture of some floral Nike blazers and loved them so naturally I pinned them. I didn't really think about them again until I was looking through my boards for something. When I saw the picture again I just knew I had to have them and so I googled them. Low and behold they were limited edition and even worse they were no longer being sold anywhere. Bummer. So in a last bid attempt to buy these beautiful trainers (yes I know I just described trainers as beautiful but they are floral and flowers are beautiful) I went and looked on the almighty eBay...

One pair on sale. Just one. Size 5.5, worn once and the bid ended the following day. I knew it was fate. Okay a teensy bit dramatic for a pair of trainers but it was obvious that I was supposed to buy them. The price went up over night but they were still cheaper than their original price so I bid and won them. I was so happy. 

So here they are in all their glory...

Aren't they just the prettiest trainers you've ever seen?

Ciao for now...

My 22nd Birthday

Ciao,

So it's long overdue but I wanted to do a birthday summary of my 22nd birthday. I didn't plan on doing very much for my birthday but it ended up being three days of celebration with my friends and family. On my actual birthday I went to work until three o'clock and then went straight from there to see my Dad at the Hospice with my Mum, brother and sister. We just chilled and I opened my cards and presents and then we had birthday cake which was an awesome GIANT jaffa cake. Yum. After seeing Dad I went and had dinner in Windsor at Pizza Express. Overall a chilled but lovely birthday. 

The following day I got invited over to a close friend's house to have dinner with her and two of my other friends and their partners. We do this every few weeks so I was so shocked when my friends three year old came running in with a card followed by two more cards, a bar of chocolate, a bunch of flowers and then a Topshop voucher as well. Then they surprised me again by coming out with a birthday cake with candles after dinner! They're such superstars and I really appreciated the surprise! I felt well and truly spoiled by their kindness and friendship.

Then finally, two days after my birthday I went out with my best friend to a restaurant called Bill's in Windsor. We had a lovely dinner and she bought me a beautiful bracelet with a daisy on it. All in all I had a lovely and what I feel is very mature three days of birthday celebration. I received some lovely gifts but more than anything I spent time with my amazing family and lovely friends and ended up enjoying my birthday more than I had originally anticipated! 

Sometimes low key is just perfect. :)

Ciao for now...

Spring has sprung!

Ciao,

A few months ago I was looking for a new camera with the intention of taking it on my year abroad. The first place I looked was Argos and lucky that I did as they were having their January sales and had some amazing cameras massively reduced. I ended up buying a Nikon 1 J2 which normally costs £400 but was on sale for £200, I had some Christmas money left over and also my parents and brother were looking for something to get me for my birthday so I ended up getting a very expensive camera for not much money at all.

 I've had the camera since January but hadn't actually used it until last weekend. It was a beautifully sunny day, as it is today, and there is a small tree outside my house which blooms blossom every spring, it is so pretty that I had to take some pictures. I ended up doing a bit of a spring photo-shoot and now am a little bit obsessed with my camera. 

Et voila...

Ciao for now...

Throwback Thursday: Birthday Edition

Ciao,

Today, as it was my birthday this week, I am throwing it back to my sweet 16 which is now 6 years ago! Oh my goodness, I cannot believe it was that long ago! 

From left to right: My best friend Chloe, me and my friend Amy. This photo was taken in my living room on the morning of my 16th birthday (10/03/08) before going to school. Oooo aren't those uniforms SO attractive. Haha. This is back when I was trying very hard to grow my hair and also to have a side fringe which never sat right and which I now realise all 3 of us had...awkward. From all the marks on Chloe's jumper I'm guessing that it rained but I also think that it may have snowed around that time too! 

This posy photo was taken on my birthday outing, me and three friends got a limo into London, had a meal at Pizza Express and then went to watch Dirty Dancing at the theatre. I used to love the top I'm wearing, it was from Jane Norman which was our favourite shop as teenagers and it was a baby pink and black lace corset top which laced all the way up the front. Despite the very sassy posing and pouty face I love looking at this photo I cannot believe that I thought I was fat. Okay I'm not super thin here but in my 16 year old brain I was fat. In hindsight I was perfectly normal and shouldn't have spent any time fretting over my weight. You live and learn eh.

I am now 6 years on from these photos and several stone heavier but I'm also far more mature and I no longer have a dodgy fringe! 

Ciao for now... 

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling twenty-two...

Ciao,

 

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling twenty-two...

 

Today is my 22nd birthday so naturally I had to tweet out Taylor Swift's catchy tune this morning which I decided will be my birthday tune for the day. I can't quite believe a whole year has passed since my 21st birthday but life seems to whizz by nowadays!

 

It's actually funny that the lyrics of 22 say 'I'm feeling twenty-two' because who actually knows what 22 feels like? Nobody, age is different for every single person. People always ask if you feel older or any different which is really quite a ridiculous thing to ask, as if you are suddenly going to feel completely different just because the clock has gone past 12 and a new day has started. However, I do look different on this birthday as I spent 3 hours in the hairdressers on Friday getting my hair cut and coloured. I'm going to post some before and after pictures at some point this week as well as a birthday summary.

 

There is also a massive difference between the weather on my birthday, last year there was definitely snow on the ground but I can't remember if it did snow on the actual day of my birthday or not, whereas this year it is gloriously sunny and relatively warm. The pleasures of being a spring baby, you never know what weather you'll get!

 

Happy Birthday to me!

 

Ciao for now...

'The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry'

Ciao,

 

Today I am a week away from my 22nd birthday and the difference in my life between now and this time last year is actually astounding. This time last year my Dad was home and fine and I was half way through my second year at uni and planning my year abroad. It's funny how you plan a path for yourself and in the blink of an eye your path has been completely redirected. I feel that I have learnt a lot more in this past year than ever before; I have learnt that life is unpredictable and to quote John Steinbeck 'The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry'.

 

I've been feeling fairly miserable the past few weeks because I feel as though I'm off course and it worries me that I am about to turn 22 and I don't feel any closer to any of my goals. I feel as though I am in some sort of limbo between adolescence and actual adulthood. University life is not a real reflection of adulthood and its responsibilities, you have tonnes of free time, a sparse timetable and more socialising time than anything else and I have to say that I cannot wait to be done with university. I know I will probably regret wishing that time away but as of right now I have done 3 years of A Levels and 3 years of a degree, by the time I graduate I will have spent 7 years in higher education and be 23 years old. I feel as though I'm waiting for my life to start, I want to be out of education with a job so I can start my career and begin saving for a house. How old do I sound?

 

Do you ever feel stuck in a rut? Do you compare your 'progress' to others your age or use your own aspirations as a marker?

 

Ciao for now... 

Monthly Aims: March

Ciao,

Long time no see. It's been a crazy few weeks, a crazy few weeks which have been extremely hard and emotional for us all as a family. Dad's situation has changed again and because of that I had to make the decision not to go to Italy. It was a difficult decision which I struggled to make but it was the best option for me and my family. 

In this post I should really evaluate my progress on my monthly aims but I think considering the month I've had I'm going to cut myself some slack and forget this months aims.

There are going to be extremely hard times ahead of me over the next few years and I'm going to have to deal with things I never thought I'd have to deal with in my early twenties so my main aim is to keep going. I of course have smaller life aims like getting my drivers license and losing the weight I want to lose but I'm taking pressure of myself slightly in regards to those things. So my aims for March are:

1. To exercise at least 5 days a week.

2. To revise French/Italian 3 times a week.

I'm going easy this month and we'll see how that goes.

Ciao for now...

Things I Love Thursday

Ciao, 

Is it that time again already? Time is just zipping by! It's time for another Things I Love Thursday! 

1. The Nike Blazers I just won on eBay!: This is all Pinterest's fault! I saw a pair of Nike Blazers which were pale blue and flowery and I loved them so I decided to have a cheeky little google and see if I could buy them. Turns out they were limited edition and nowhere sells them so I had a little look on eBay and would you believe there was ONE pair up for sale, size 5.5 and ending today. I wasn't sure at first if 5.5 would fit as I am a size 6 but I have a pair of Nikes and they're 5.5 so I knew it was fate. Those shoes were destined to be mine. I won the eBay bid using my favourite bidding technique and bought them for £51. Pray they fit me!! 

2. The new battery on my laptop: So I finally bought a new battery and now I can use my laptop without a charger for more than 10 minutes! 

3. Blogging: I blogged 7 times in January and I have already blogged 3 times this month and it's only 6 days in. I didn't think I would be able to but I think I'm going to blog more than last month! 

Ciao for now...

Stress.

Ciao,

I have just attempted to write the first post for my 'What you need' series and blahhhhhhhhhhh my brain just wont co operate with me. It has been like this all day long. I took a day off work today because I felt awful when I woke up, I was losing my voice, my throat hurt and I had a stinking headache. The headache hasn't gone all day despite taking ibuprofen and sleeping but my voice is nearly normal again. I think this is all down to stress as I have been feeling down all this week. My Dad is in absolute agony at the moment with his neck and it's distressing to see someone you love in that much pain especially when you can't help. As a result of the neck pain the doctors have put his chemotherapy on hold and he has an appointment at the hospital for his neck on Friday. I'm stressing because I get the feeling that my Dad is going to have to have a second operation on his neck and I really don't want that to happen if I'm not in the country as it's major spinal surgery. I was just beginning to feel comfortable with the idea of leaving the country and now a spanner has been thrown in the works. I've also been worrying about my Mum, sister and brother; if my Dad has to have another operation on his neck it will be done in a hospital which is an hour away from home and will mean my Mum spends her days travelling to and from this hospital as she did for weeks over the summer. When this happens I take on as much of my Mums chores as I can, I do the washing, ironing, cooking and general cleaning so she doesn't have to worry about it. I'm worried that if my Dad is still an hour away when I leave for Italy that all of this is going to fall to my brother in which case they're in big trouble as he can't use a washing machine or cook!  Even worse is if the pressure falls to my 16 year old sister who is currently studying for her GCSE's. This is making me feel like I'm abandoning my family when they need me and I feel I'm being selfish. I guess I'll have to wait until Friday to know what's going to happen and hope that things are back on track in the next 3 weeks before I leave. 

Ciao for now...

Monthly Aims: February

Ciao,

I set myself 3 aims for January as opposed to a New Years resolution and this has helped me to maintain focus and make good progress. I wanted to evaluate my aims and whether I reached them and also create some aims for February.

January Aim 1:  Pass my driving test

Progress: I took my test on the 30th January and I failed. Now I wasn't really expecting anything different but I'm glad I did it and now know what to expect for next time. I have decided not to retake the test until July because I have so much to be doing for Italy and don't need the added stress of trying to pass my driving test.   

January Aim 2: To start my fitness & weight loss journey

Progress: So far I have lost pounds and have also lost inches all over my body, specifically around my stomach. I also feel like I am getting fitter, I have started to run on the treadmill as opposed to just walking which makes me feel good and like I've accomplished something. My friend studies sport at uni and had put together a load of exercises for me to do which I am planning on using while I'm in Italy. This month I am going to attempt to complete Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred...wish me luck!

  

January Aim 3:To blog more

I feel I have most definitely accomplished this goal and have been updating this little area of the internet a whole lot more and really enjoying doing it too! I'm not sure if I'll be able to write the same amount of posts in February as it is a shorter month and will also be crazily busy for me as I prepare for Italy! March should be amazing for blogging as I should have a lot to write about!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/166844361166253084/

February Aims:

1. To continue to get fit and healthy

2. To learn the basics of using a sewing machine

3. To learn how to use my new camera

4. To be organised

Ciao for now...

Things I Love Thursday

Ciao,

I am getting this post in just half an hour before it becomes Friday. It's fine, it's still Thursday!

1. Pinterest: OMG how have I never been introduced to this magical world before? I am obsessed. There are so many cool DIY's and things I wanna try, not to mention all the mouth watering recipes! What is not to love.

2. Festival tickets: As of about 5 minutes ago, I have tickets to go to Wireless Festival this July (again) to see Drake (again) and Rudimental and various other artists. Super excited for summer and festival time now and it's only just February!

3. Planning Italy with Kat:  Kat is back, YAY, and we just had a very long Nandos date where we caught up on life and chatted about our pending trip to Italia. Eeeeek! I'm trying very hard to contain my excitement. Very very hard. 

Ciao for now...

I'm a collector.

Ciao,

This week I welcomed 7 new nail varnishes to my collection, bringing my grand total up to an astonishing and slightly embarrassing 86 nail varnishes. Whoops? Perhaps it's excessive but I have been given a lot of those in sets with like 10 nail polishes for presents. I also have become a frequent buyer on fragrancedirect.co.uk which was introduced to me by my cousin. On Fragrance Direct beauty items are sold an incredibly discounted price so for instance on this purchase I  bought: 

Essie Rock Solid Ultra Strength Base Coat  -  RRP - £8.99 I paid - £2.99

Essie Pink About It - RRP - £7.99 I paid - £2.50

Essie All Tied Up - RRP - £7.99 I paid - £2.50

Rimmel Metal Rush Pearly Queen -  RRP - £3.99 I paid - £0.99

Rimmel 60 Seconds Grey Matter - RRP - £3.99 I paid - £0.99

Rimmel 60 Seconds Aye Aye Sailor - RRP - £3.99 I paid - £0.99

Rimmel 60 Seconds Blue Eyed Girl - RRP - £3.99 I paid - £0.99

This means I got £40.93 worth of nail polish for only £11.95! That's a saving of £28.98! You cannot argue with that! Worth every penny! 

All 86 nail polishes neatly stored in order
 of brand and also colour. Sort of. 

This week I also got to do something new on my nails inspired by a picture I saw on Instagram. I present to you...

PENGUIN NAILS! 

I used: Maybelline Super Stay 7 Days - Mint For Life on 4 of my fingers.
For the penguin I used: Rimmel 60 Seconds in Grey Matter,
Barry M  in Matt White, Barry M Nail Art Pen in Black
and Essie in Fear & Desire

How adorable are those? Excuse the messy edges I was too excited to wait and had to take pictures straight away! So simple but so darn cute! 

On that adorable note...

Ciao for now...

Say Yes

Ciao,
 

Now I know your parents tell you to always say no to strangers but I am planning on going completely against this rule while I am in Italy. I don't really feel that I have taken full advantage of the university experience and I have always let other factors hold me back such as money or just being lazy but I don't want this to be the case while I am abroad. It is extremely unlikely that I will ever get the opportunity again and so I am going to take full advantage of the situation in all respects.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/496662665127775900/ 

Maybe finding out about my Dad as made this clearer to me, I've definitely realised that life is too short to say no to things or to wait for things to fall into your lap. Its also too short to be unhappy and dwell on the past and things you cannot change or control. Often it is the things we do not do that we regret as opposed to those we do. I think that no opportunity is wasted, if you do something and don't enjoy it at least you know for a fact you don't like it and if it's a bad experience chances are you learnt a valuable lesson which will help you in the long run. I'm not saying that you should be reckless and say yes to things you don't agree with or don't feel comfortable with but there are many situations you may be offered that would help you to learn and grow as a person.

 

I am throwing myself in at the deep end in Italy, my language skills are basic and I know it's going to be a steep up-hill climb but I know that saying yes to people and allowing myself to have new experiences will only enrich my time abroad, make me tonnes of memorable stories, good and bad, and most importantly will help me to grow and learn.

 

Ciao for now...

Things I Love Thursday

Ciao,

 

Okay I'm posting my second blog post in 2 days...I think that is a record. So now I'm going to tell you what I've been loving this week so far!

 

1. Losing 6 pounds: through careful healthier eating and actually getting off my butt and exercising I have lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks taking me below 15 stone! Woop!

 

2. Being more confident in my driving: by this time next week I will have taken my driving test and will probably writing a blog post telling you whether I passed or failed.

 

3. Beginning to prepare myself for moving to Italy: my flight is booked, camera purchased and I've been planning all sorts in my head!

 

This weeks TILT has been very life goal focused and is proof that my aims for January are slowly beginning to happen thanks to my focus this month.

 

Ciao for now... 

I'm going to Italy!

Ciao,

So it is officially official as of about 20 minutes ago...I am going to Italy! Yay! I have just booked my flight and will be leaving on February 26th and heading to Lecce which is in the very south of Italy. I am going to be attending uni in Italy at Università del Salento from the beginning of March until June!

That's Lecce in the red circle at the
 heel of the boot.South south south!

How cute is this picture of Italy?!?
Lecce isn't shown but you can see
Bari which is where I will fly to!

I am excited and petrified all at the same time! I'm excited because, well it's pretty obvious really, it's Italy with Italian food, sunshine and cute mopeds and maybe cute Italian boys ;)! Also because I will get to spend loads of time with my lovely friend Kat as we have decided to be roomies. I have missed her over the past 5 months while she's been in Madrid so it'll be amazing to spend time with her making memories in Italy. 

However, as you can imagine it's been a hard decision to make and I was very dubious about going because of my Dad. He started his chemo on Monday and touch wood so far he has been okay which has reassured me slightly. More than anything I want to graduate in 2015 as planned and going to Italy allows me to do this, even if it will be very hard to be away from my family. I am also petrified as I know NO Italian at all. Absolutely none. I have broken every linguist rule and not practised since I broke up from uni in May! Oh dearie me. I have only studied Italian for 2 years so I think I am going to really struggle in the first few weeks but sometimes you have to jump in at the deep end! I have been planning to revise and study but I have been so consumed by driving lessons and going to the gym at the moment on top of work that I have been so tired and had barely any time to do any practice. Rubbish excuse I know but I did buy something rather awesome though...vocabulary Post-its!

These are super cool and a fun way to learn vocab which is key when just picking up a language. Unfortunately they only have level 1 in the shops at the moment and the next few levels aren't coming out until March which is when I will be in Italy! 

I really need to get my butt in gear and crack on with some Italian revision!

Ciao for now...

30 things to do before you're 30 - Part 3

Ciao

I have finally completed my 30 things to do before I'm 30 bucketlist so here we go!

21. Become a Mummy: I mean the mother kind not the dead bandaged wrapped kind. I had to go back through my previous two posts in order to remember what I had already put and I couldn't believe this wasn't on the very first post! I have wanted to be a Mum for as long as I can remember, so really this is my biggest goal!

22. Witness a birth: as well as give birth myself several times (hopefully) I would really love to be there when someone I love gives birth, I imagine it's incredibly magical to watch a life come into the world!

23. Own my first pet: I have never ever had a pet and I would really like one at some point. I'm gonna go a little bit out of the ordinary and get a turtle, they're just so darn cute. 

24. Run a marathon: I am in no state to do this right now but it's always something I've thought about and it' would be a huge achievement. 

25. Find a sport and join a team: I used to play netball and trampoline but I haven't played sport since I was 16 and I do miss it!

26. Learn to play an instrument: I love music and have never learnt an instrument but have always wanted to.

27. Skydive: the adrenaline rush would be immense! 

28. Scuba dive: see above. Plus cool fishies!

29. Learn to knit: I have a sewing machine and am looking to learn to use that this year and knitting would be the cherry on top!

30. Meet a celebrity: probably the least important and least beneficial to my life but cool none the less. I'm not sure who I would like to meet the most but I'd like to meet someone impressive. 

So there we have it, my 30 things before I'm 30 bucketlist! I'm almost 22 so only 8 years to complete as many as I can! I'd love you to comment and let me know what is on your bucketlist.

Ciao for now...